


Vault Time Machine

by spinalcord



Category: Fallout (Video Games), Fallout 4
Genre: Alternate Universe, F/M, Ficlet Collection, Fluff, Gen, Mini fics, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-09-02
Updated: 2017-09-23
Packaged: 2018-12-22 18:35:41
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 3,780
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11973252
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/spinalcord/pseuds/spinalcord
Summary: A series of AU ficlets, featuring characters from the Fallout series and my OC's. Some will be fluffy, others will be angst-ridden, and yet others may not include a pairing at all. No guarantees on how many will be posted, or how often, but stay tuned and we'll all find out together! Enjoy!





	1. Fake Phone ##

‘hey, cutie ;) what a party last night, huh? tbh ive been thinking about you all morning after that kiss. would you wanna grab some coffee later?’

‘well, damn, wish I had been there lol. who’s this?’

‘seriously? i though you said i was the only girl you gave your number to’

‘hm, pretty drunk last night too, but I don’t remember giving it out to anybody’

‘jackson. its me, alex. remmeber? you beat me at beer pong and i lost the bet, so i had to kiss you. i know you werent that drunk’

‘awk-ward. this isn’t Jackson, sweetie’

‘what? who the hell is this? oh my god pls just dont share those pics’

‘I think this Jackson you speak of gave you a fake ##. shame, cause judging by your pics, I bet that was one HOT kiss ;) <3’

‘well if you arent jackson, then who the hell are you? you arent one of his nasty ass frat bros are you?’

‘nope, guess not. cant say I know a Jackson. buuuuuuut if you still want a coffee buddy, I’d be down to meet…’

‘god. whatever. will you promise to delete the pics if i meet you?’

‘sure why not’

‘meet me at the starbucks on 5th and weston at 10. and pls don’t be a sleaze ball’

‘I’ll be on my best behavior :)’

Ugh, what a dick. First, he had roped her into playing beer pong, then he had forced her to bet ‘a service’, and then he didn’t even have the decency to tell her no to her face when she fell for him. Now here she was, sitting in the window at some crowded Starbucks, waiting on a strange guy to show up and put the moves on her. Wait, was it even a guy? Ugh, she didn’t know.

The bell jingled as someone stepped inside, but she wasn’t even going to bother to look this time. He knew what she looked like. She didn’t even know what his name was. So, as far as she was concerned, he could do all the work of hunting her down in there. All she was going to do was sit back and enjoy her venti mocha latte and listen to the sounds of business people drone on about their 401k’s.

God, and to think, that would be her in a few years. Trying to find the best benefits any one company would offer her, college degree in hand.

“Anybody sitting here?”

“No, you can take the chair,” Alex said, waving the guy off. She never looked up, at least not until the chair squeaked across the floor and then back against the table, now occupied. “Uh, excu-“

“Alex?” He arched a brow as she just stared at him. Well, fuck, he did show up. “Sorry I’m late. I didn’t think you’d actually be here, so I went to pick up some things next door. Name’s MacCready, by the way.”

“You go by… your last name?” she asked, unsure what else to say. He was… not what she was expecting. All she could do was stare at him, taking in little bits at a time. Thank _god,_ she had actually shown up. And thank god for Jackson’s asshole-ry.

“It’s a long story,” he chuckled. The plain, white cup was brought to his lips and there was a fleeting desire for her to be that cup. “So, you go to the university, too. Right?”

“Yeah. Already a junior, can’t fucking believe it. Were you picking up your textbooks next door?”

MacCready shook his head. “No, I already got them last week. I went to buy some extracurricular reading.”

“Oh, I didn’t know anybody used that place like a Barnes and Noble.” Alex took a drink from her latte as he smirked into his cup. “What’d you get?”

“Alright, don’t laugh, but… I got _Pride and Prejudice.”_ That didn’t stop her from snickering and he rolled his eyes. “I’ve got a list of classics I’m trying to finish, and that’s one of the last ones that I haven’t read yet.”

She raised her eyebrows as she gave him a little nod. “Ah, I see. That’s acceptable, then.”

“You like reading?” he asked, pushing the half empty cup onto the table.

“Yeah, what kinda question is that?” she replied, as if it was obvious.

“Well, in that case, they’re having a huge sale next door. 100% off, but you’ve gotta bring someone good-looking with you to get the discount.” The sly smirk on his lips grew as her eyes widened. Handsome _and_ clever.

“Sounds like a pretty good discount. I wonder how they could afford to do that?” she said, already rising from her chair.

“I thought so, too. But there’s so much to look at. It would take you, pffff, _hours_! And even then, it’s hard to decide, though I’m sure you wouldn’t want to leave empty handed. Not with that discount.”

Super clever.

They stepped out of the Starbucks and walked the few short feet to the bookstore. A huge back to school display sat in the windows, mentioning no such thing about a sale, and he held the door for her. The backroom was where all the non-textbooks were and they made a beeline for it. She’d really never been back there, and as it turned out, it really was huge. As she tried to decide where to even start, MacCready gasped and took her hand.

“Come look at this. I read this over the summer and it was insane. I don’t think I put it down for a second,” he said, bringing her to a display in the center of a huge table. It was advertising some hideously long series of 15 books that she had never heard of before, and there was a moving cardboard dragon hoarding a bunch of box sets. “I mean, you’re probably busy with classes and don’t have time to read all these 400-page books, but the display is kinda cool. Anyway, so the series is about blah blahblah blah blah….”

Alex didn’t hear anything else he was saying. All she could do was stare at his wide, shining eyes and realize that he was a nerd. A hot, clever _nerd._

“But anyway, I don’t know if that’s your thing. What kind of books do you normally read?” he asked, turning to face her. He still hadn’t let go of her hand.

“Oh, yeah, I like… dragons. That sounds really cool. Um, but what about like, period novels?” she said. A little bit of hair was brushed behind her ear as she looked up at him, watching him think.

“Yeah, I know of a few!” He brought her across the room to a small shelf along the wall, full of historical fiction books. “This one is pretty good. It’s set in the 20’s, and it’s about some mob boss escaping jail time. But if you wanted something earlier than that, this one is set in the early 1800’s and it’s got some good comedy in it. This other one, I read a couple months ago, and it’s about a group of kids in the 1890’s. They run away from home and get separated, and then they find each other again years later.”

From there, he took her to another shelf, giving her more recommendations for books. It was obvious, even well before he had given her multiple suggestions from each and every genre, that he really loved to read. It was cute, watching him look fondly at some of his favorite novels. Hell, she had just met him, and she already wanted to keep walking around the backroom with him for hours and hours. Which, they did, until they’d visited every shelf and table left.

“Did you see something you want?” he asked.

“There’s so many to pick from… I don’t know.” Alex bit her lip, staring at the table they had just looked through.

“I told you it was going to be hard to decide!” MacCready chuckled. “I think you’d really like this one. Seriously. It’s really good.”

“Why do you say that? Is it your favorite?”

“It’s… one of them, yes.” He blushed a little, handing the book over to her. The first _Grognak_ novel, published last year as part of some expansion on the comics. “I mean, it’s really up to you. I won’t be offended if you don’t pick that one.”

She smiled, and he quickly beamed right back. “I’ll take it. If it’s one of your favorites,” she said, tucking it under her arm.

They went to check out, with him making sure that he was good-looking enough to qualify her for the 100% off discount. She agreed, unable to contain her goofy smile and a little giggle, and he handed her the bag after he’d paid. Then he took her hand and they wandered out into the street, and she realized just how many hours they had spent in there together. It was already getting late in the afternoon!

“Well, I guess I should let you get home. But, before you go… Can I keep your pics?” he simpered, biting his lip.

Alex rolled her eyes. “Yes, you can keep my pics. Just promise you’ll text me later.”

“Oh, of course! I’ll see you later, Alex. Don’t study too hard.”

With that, he waved and turned to head down the street, hands shoved in his pockets as she watched him go. God, she was going to be counting the minutes until he finally texted her again.


	2. Unlikely Rendezvous

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of AU ficlets, featuring characters from the Fallout series and my OC's. Some will be fluffy, others will be angst-ridden, and yet others may not include a pairing at all. No guarantees on how many will be posted, or how often, but stay tuned and we'll all find out together! Enjoy!

“Can’t just leave, can’t just _walk out_ of here…! Of course, I can, Sullivan! I’m doing it right now, as I speak… to myself…”

Piper grunted and pulled her jacket closer around herself, fighting off the cold that bit at her neck. The scarf she’d finally remembered to bring was - you guessed it! - left at the meeting. The stupid office meeting, where everyone and security was stuffed into a tiny little room with only half as many snack foods as necessary. Tonight’s topic was meant to be something about that lame-o event for shuttered cat ladies that no one wanted to cover, and how somebody was going to volunteer for it. Or, get volun _told_.

Well, she just wasn’t doing it. She had her own story to cover, something actually exciting for once. God only knew how badly this small city needed a real news story, one that was raw and dangerous and put some real emotion into people! And she was just the gal to write the whole thing up, start to finish.

Of course, writing such a hard-hitting news piece was really starting to wear on her, stress creeping into the roots of her bangs. Yeah, gray hair. And more than one, too! But she didn’t want to let her literary muse fall to the wayside, so she’d looked up some events at the bookstore. Author signings, readings, that sort of thing. A poetry slam had caught her eye, of all things, but it just had to be right in the middle of their meeting. Now that she was skipping away from that dingy office, though, she was ecstatic that it was _right in the middle_ of their meeting. What luck, amiright?

The slam was already getting started, the lights down low in the windows of the bookstore slash coffee shop slash hipster hangout slash… whatever else they decided to make money off of these days. So, she slipped in through the door, real nice and slow, like she did when the cops had told her to scram before she could get a good set of pictures. No one turned around, all too focused on the shaking, nervous chick that had taken stage first. Poor thing stammered her way through the lines she’d written, stumbling a bit when Piper hit her toe against a wooden bench and had to bite her tongue on a pained shout.

Up near the stage, there was one seat still open next to a guy in - oh jeez - a fedora. Well, if she wanted to hear this girl squeak out the rest of her poem, she knew she needed to get close. It was also the perfect, open spot to take pictures, so she pulled her camera out and quickly took a seat. She had no idea if the guy looked her way or not, but she made it a point not to turn her head unless she absolutely had to. Better to not make him think she was checking him out. Ugh.

“Heh, alright-y, thank you, Miss Shea,” the host said awkwardly, shuffling the terrified girl away. Only a few cheers went up from the crowd, much to the girl’s dismay, and she disappeared behind the shelves as the next poet came on. “Next up, Terrance. Those of you who joined us last week may remember him.”

An uncomfortably long silence fell over the room as Terrance stepped up to the mic, waiting. Piper assumed it was part of the poem, and as it turned out, she was correct. Awesome. Well, no better time to take clear photos than when the subject is standing still! The shutter clicked softly as she snapped a few, then put it down to wait for the next poet. A board behind the stage was already marked with the lineup. Three more, and then there would be an intermission for snacks. She felt her eyes automatically drifting towards the guy next to her. No! Don’t look at him! Oh jeez, should she move? Pretend to get up and go to the restroom right before the last poet ended? No, that would be rude. She already screwed up the first girl’s performance with her foot.

She could hardly even relax and enjoy the poetry between taking photos and notes, and worrying about fedora guy. At least she remembered to vote for her favorite poem. They were all pretty raw and political, which wasn’t unexpected for a slam, but she didn’t think the atmosphere would be so charged in a little bookstore like this. But, that was great to put in an article! Get people thinking about the emotion in the room, all that jazz…

“Intermission will last until 9:20, so please feel free to get snacks and drinks, chat with the poets. And for anybody leaving us, have a good night,” the host announced as the lights went up.

Shit! Fedora guy turned to her – of course! – and leaned in. Piper was still trying not to look, but now it was getting awkward.

“I couldn’t help but notice you there, Ms. Piper. Pleasure to see you again.”

Who the he- “Nick! I didn’t know you’d be here! How’re the cases going?” she said, a huge smile growing on her face. Who knew the suave, synth detective showed up to boring ol’ poetry slams in the middle of dingy bookstores?

“They’re going well, thanks for asking. Just closed one on a runaway girl who had managed to get all the way to Maine in her father’s boat,” Nick Valentine answered. A grin was pulling at his plastic cheeks, showing off his teeth. “Teens these days… Persistent, but in everything besides their schoolwork.”

“Oh jeez, I don’t think that’s a new phenomenon at all. My grades were proof of that!” They both chuckled, and then she shrugged. “Sounds like it would make for an interesting article, though. That is, if you’d be willing to share the deets again.”

“Give me a chance to ask the family first. It is a kid we’re talking about here. I wouldn’t want to draw too much attention to them right after they got their daughter back.” He tipped his hat up, revealing a skeletal hand where it had been covered by plastic before. It shined in the light, clicking a little as his fingers bent and relaxed.

“Nick! What happened to your hand?” she cried, forgetting to keep it down. Oh well, everyone else could buzz off.

The detective gave another chuckle as he held his hand out, shrugging casually. “The bears in Maine are a little meaner than they are out here. At least, it didn’t chew the whole thing clean off.”

“Were you _always_ this reckless?” Piper crossed her arms over her chest as she squinted at him, daring him to tell her some wild story so she could scold him further. Sometimes, she forgot that she wasn’t his mom.

“Hm, suppose not. But what’s it matter now? All my parts can be replaced, at least as long as the station keeps me on. You think this is bad, you should see some of the field synths. Had to patch one up yesterday that had its whole face ripped off by a suspect. Gave the guy enough of a fright that they were able to arrest him, though.”

What? What was he saying? All she could do was stare at him. Was he always this attractive? Yeah, sure, he was made of plastic, but like… _good-looking_ plastic. His lips turned up and he chuckled. Oh man, she’d never really thought of him like this before.

Well, probably because he was a freakin’ robot!

“Piper, you in there?” he asked, waving a hand in front of her face. She blinked, tearing her eyes away. Finally. “If I didn’t know better, I’d think you wer-“

“D-do you… I mean, would you want to get dinner sometime? Oh, well, I know you can’t eat but… Or maybe we could do something else! A movie!” she shouted, eyes wide. “I’m free this Friday evening.”

Nick sat quietly for a moment, his yellow, glowing eyes tracing over her face. Then he arched an eyebrow. “Didn’t think you’d ever ask, if I’m being honest.”

“So, that’s a yes?”

“I suppose it is.”

“Be at my house at 6. I’ll be ready.”

As the lights began to flash, already signaling the end of intermission, she tossed her camera and notebook into her bag. It was a waste of the pictures she had taken, but she didn’t think she could listen to one more minute of this awful, novice poetry. Before she turned to go (and slammed her toe against the bench a second time), she leaned in to peck a bold kiss to his lips.

“See you Friday, Valentine.”


	3. Greatest Songs of All Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A series of AU ficlets, featuring characters from the Fallout series and my OC's. Some will be fluffy, others will be angst-ridden, and yet others may not include a pairing at all. No guarantees on how many will be posted, or how often, but stay tuned and we'll all find out together! Enjoy!

Their glasses of whiskey shaking like that one scene in Jurassic Park should have tipped them off to the fact that the music was way too damn loud – especially for an apartment complex – but they were drunk, of course. _And_ they were having too much fun doing goofy headbangs and a ‘moshpit’ which really just consisted of them shoving each other back and forth on the couch. So, while the entire complex was trying to sleep, Alex and Mac rocked out to some of the greatest hits of all time loudly enough that it was a wonder their kitchen window didn’t shatter into a million pieces. They couldn’t even hear each other yelling across the couch, much less the banging from downstairs when their neighbors finally got fed up.

A loud knock at the door between songs made Alex gasp, her face turning down into a grimace. Oh, they were going to get an earful now! But Mac just snickered and waved her back to the couch as he stood. His wobbly legs took him to the door only slightly faster than hers, and they both giggled as he threw the door open to a very disgruntled upstairs neighbor. Preston stood firm on the welcome mat in his pajamas, while Sturges popped up over his shoulder, ruining the whole ‘angry parent’ look.

“Hey-hey! Didja guys come to join us?” Mac slurred, leaning against the door. His goofy smirk only grew as Preston’s glare became stricter by the second. “I think we still have plenty of whiskey left! Come in, come in here!”

The invitation must not have seemed very appealing, because Preston just cleared his throat and crossed his arms tighter over his chest. “Do you know what time it is?” he shouted, barely louder than the music. “It’s 3 in the morning! On a Tuesday!”

“Thanks, Garv, but we have a clock.” Mac’s chest swelled like it was the best comeback anyone had ever thought up.

Preston sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Your music is _too damn loud!_ Turn it down before someone calls the cops, alright?”

“Someone like you?” Alex chuckled, flipping her hair.

“I might have t-”

Sturges’ eyes lit up as the next song began to take off, blasting notes out into the night at an ungodly volume. “Whoa, is that Def Leppard?” he said, cutting Preston off midsentence. Then he pushed his way past their neighbor into the apartment, where he ogled their huge collection of old classic rock CDs. “I thought I heard some Zeppelin earlier, but y’all have got everything in here! Aerosmith, Rolling Stones, The Doors, ZZ Top… Where’d you get all these?”

Mac’s chest seemed to puff out even more as he sauntered over to the racks and nodded. “Been collecting them for a while. Lots of signed copies in there, too.”

Alex sipped her whiskey as she watched the boys drool over the collection, while Preston stood in the doorway looking like a little kid who had dropped his ice cream. All he could do was look on as Sturges changed the CD and practiced a bit of air guitar, completely derailing the purpose of their visit. She started to laugh again until Piper suddenly stuck her head into the room. The sleepy reporter pursed her lips as she looked each of them up and down, then stomped up to the stereo and pulled the plug.

“Alright, you want everyone to know how great your taste in music is! Fine! But do it during the day, not when we’re all trying to sleep!” Piper cried, throwing her hands in the air.

Preston bowed his head towards her. “Thanks, Piper. I came up here to request that they turn it down, but I suppose your approach was-”

“Oh, can it! I’m going back to bed…”

With that, Piper shuffled out in a huff and her door could be heard slamming a few moments later. Preston just shrugged as he left, mumbling something about keeping it down if they wanted to stay up, and Mac made faces when wasn’t looking. Once the door shut behind him, Sturges plugged up the stereo again and popped in a Metallica CD, though they did lower the volume a (tiny) bit as they fired up an air guitar competition. Neither of them were any good at it, but hey, at least they were having fun!

**Author's Note:**

> Want to see a pairing, a character, or an AU featured in the next ficlet? Comment or PM me on tumblr (official-squints.tumblr.com) with a prompt and I'll try my best. I accept any sort of requests, even kinks (though I may decline to do some if they involve Alex or they're just out of my wheelhouse)! Thank you for reading!


End file.
